Winter 2013 - Creighton University School of Medicine

Wellness
Chronicle
Vol. XVII, No. 2 Winter 2013
Food for Thought
Rose Park
M1
Photo Credit: abcnew.go/Entertainment
It would be an understatement to say these past
few months have been busy. We’ve been hit by a bus
full of information, ran over by the wheels of adjustment, and expected to survive. With the boatload of
information that we’re expected to jam into our
heads, it’s a miracle we haven’t forgotten the essentials to life: bathing, eating, clipping our toenails
(better check on those talons).
It’s easy, for me at least, to lose sight of why we
signed up for this lifestyle. With the cornucopia of cell
cycles, cardiac anomalies, etc., how could you not
help but feel you signed up for a Bachelor’s of Science
on steroids? Aside from the IPE exams, longitudinal
clinics for M2s, our lack of actual medical interaction
(in my opinion) clouds the real reason I wanted to be a
doctor in the first place; to serve.
Recently, I sat through a speech with Nhu-Nguyen
Le, and Jon Campbell given by Dr. Jill Brown from the
Creighton Commitment to Service department. During
Dr. Brown’s speech, I listened to some insight I had
been struggling to put into words for quite sometime.
I wanted to share the feelings I connected with, as I
found them to clarify my purpose, my intent, why I’m
here.
For the weeks prior, I questioned my commitment
to this craft as the realm of possibility for attaining the
most-sought out MD seemed like a rainbow; you can
see it, but if you can’t reach it, is it really there? When
going through these conundrums, I find some clarity
through volunteering. After all, our career paths are
just that; we will serve others. Regardless if you decide to dedicate your lives to a community (PMD), or
make it rain as an orthopaedic surgeon in Miami, your
profession will require you to serve.
Why do we serve? This is the question Dr. Brown
brought up. For years, I found the answer to be as
simple as “it makes me feel better.” But the reality is,
a lot of things may do the exact same thing: coffee, relationships, that extra spread of cookie-butter on your toast.
So what is the exact reason?
I find myself analyzing the course of my life a lot. Weeding
out several life events, I question if I had changed my decision, taken a different route, what type of person would I
be? I am a firm believer that life is a serendipitous confluence of events, tragic, happy, mixed. While this discussion
could lead to some deep, existential conversations, the fact
I want to stress is our paths in life are created by a myriad,
random-at-that course of decisions.
So, going back to the question: why do we serve?
Perhaps, in those we serve, we see some reflection of ourselves. We envision the decisions we made in life, and hypothesize that you, a medical student, could have been
your patient had you chosen another path. That you might
have understood the pain of those you help because you
might have been them in another life. Whether or not reincarnation is something you carry as a religious tenant, decisions that brought you to medical school were made, and
just as easily, could have not been made for another. So I
serve because I could have easily been that woman waiting
for 3 hrs to be seen, rather than on the other side.
So stay inspired while flipping through Robbins
(aka Micro's version of War and Peace). Breathe life into
the passion that will sacrifice your youth, your life. Just ask
yourself…
Decisions. Did you make the right one today?
In This Issue
Food for Thought
Four Myths of a Feminist
The Learning Cycle
Shrink Rap
A Doctor’s Responsibility
Gaining Perspective
Dean’s Quarterly Update
1
2
3
4
5
7
8
Profile: Family Medicine
Interest Group
Med Yoga
“It’s So Cute When They
Think They’re Doctors”
Cooking with Diana
Big News
8
9
10
11
12
Four Myths of a Feminist, Disproved
WELLNESS
Chronicle
Faculty Advisor
Dr. Michael Kavan,
Ph.D.
Editors in Chief
Roy Norris
Alyssa Hickert
Contributors
Dr. Michael Kavan
Dr. Michael White
Linda Pappas
Michele Millard
Marcus Mittelsteadt
Elizabeth Wooster
Diana Dean
Gordon Chien
Alyssa Hickert
Rose Park
Bryn Willson
We’re on the Web!
Visit us on the Office
of Student Affairs
page
Alyssa Hickert
M2
Proclaiming myself a feminist in front
of distant acquaintances is always an adventure—usually because the person to whom I
am speaking has either: 1) no earthly clue
what that means, or 2) thinks he/she knows
EXACTLY what that means and has now just
imagined me wearing war paint and burning
bras at an anti-men rally. But, really, identifying as a feminist is very important to me, and
not actually all that radical. In fact, after reading this article, you
may find that you
land somewhere on
the spectrum of
feminism too.
what within that category—embrace it! And,
ladies, there’s no need to refrain from inviting
males to our weekly feminism-trivia-nights
anymore, as long as they bring dip.
Myth 2: Feminists Hate Men
If you believe this, you skipped Myth
#1 and I recommend—for this and all other
reading assignments—you go back and begin
at the beginning. Having said that, this myth
deserves a clarification: feminists hate sexist
men. But we also hate sexist women. And we
hate sexist camels, those jerks ... However,
this does not mean all
feminists have to join
“spermdonation.com” and
start dating each other. I’ll
sheepishly admit there
was a time in my life when
I imagined aging alone
Myth 1: Feminists
with pride; muttering “I
Can Only Be Women
don’t need a man” as I
In reality,
searched cat adoption
both men and womwebsites and registered
en can be feminists;
for LifeAlert, I envisioned
defined loosely (as I
myself a pillar of the indihave come to undervidualistic, feminist comstand it), to be a
munity. But, inevitably,
feminist is to be
taking out my own garsomeone who recogbage grew tiresome, so I
nizes—or continuPhoto credit: www.policymic.com revised my plans.
ously tries to recogI do need a man. I need a
nize— social gender-based stereotypes and
man the same way that any human being with
inequalities. Simply by being critical of these
the desire for a meaningful, romantic relationfabricated, often subtle and damaging messag- ship needs a member of the sex to which they
es, we take one more step towards correcting are attracted. If I were a lesbian, then no, I
or eliminating them altogether. But the same would not “need” a man to satisfy the romangendered stereotypes that demean/objectify/ tic aspect of my personal relationships. And
subvert women are the same sorts of social
this cuts both ways—heterosexual men
stereotypes that demand men be hyper“need” women as well, to fulfill their personal
masculine, or work outside the home, or
human desires. And finding or not finding that
watch only movies involving Bruce Willis. It is “special someone” has literally no bearing on
my firm belief that we simply use the term
the degree to which you are a feminist; it
“feminist” and not “masculist” because, histor- might have a bearing on the degree to which
ically, women have suffered more from these you are a bitter feminist, but that is a separate
stereotypes, and were forced to create an or- matter entirely.
ganized movement in response.
So, men, you don’t have to go so far
Myth 3: Feminists Hate Bras, and Burn Them
as taking your wife’s last name or buying “The
This literally never happened. I mean,
Holiday” blueray/DVD combo just yet (unless since the invention of women’s undergaryou would like to), in order to call yourself a
ments there has most likely been some unforfeminist; by simply appreciating the utter arti- tunate dryer accidents or candle incidents
ficiality of the gendered stereotypes under
(birthday cakes are more of a hazard than you
which our society currently labors, you place
may realize…) but there was not actually a
yourself somehistorical rally involving burned bras. In 1968,
2
Cont’d from page 2
organized feminists protested a Miss America beauty pageant by
throwing a number of articles that represented female oppression into a trash can (including bras and girdles); a poorlyinterpreted press article led to one very pervasive misunderstanding. Frankly, I think most feminists, like most members of
society, appreciate the benefits of bras.
good pair of high-heeled shoes, and yes I enjoy wine more than
beer. But these are not things I do because I am a woman, or for
the benefit of a man, or for any other such reason. I do these
things because I enjoy them! Even still, I acknowledge that my
appreciation for these things can be misunderstood as a fulfillment of female stereotypes. To which I say, just remember there
are plenty of women in the world who hate wine and love beer;
plenty of women who would rather go hunting than dancing;
Myth 4: Feminists Don’t Have Fun
and plenty of men who would rather wear high heels if people
Ok, so I don’t do drugs and I never go out on Tuesdays. I would stop being so gosh-darn sensitive about it, and if they
think haunted houses are too stressful to be really enjoyable,
could find them in the right size.
and those spinning teacups at Disneyworld make me nauseous.
But unless the haunted house is full of restricted voting slips, or
Well, there you go—four myths (hopefully) dispelled. I
Alice In Wonderland was a metaphor for patriarchal domination, could go on and on about feminism’s history, current battles,
feminism actually has very little effect on my aforementioned
and future prospects, but there are plenty of well-respected
characteristics. Sure, once you start to be sensitive to social ste- articles for that sort of information. At the very least, I hope I
reotypes or images, it can be hard to “turn off” and enjoy certain have helped a few people fear feminism a little less… and if you
songs or movies (and dear Lord don’t even get me started on
still despise feminism, hopefully you can now do it with an angry
Twilight and 50 Shades of Grey), but that is simply the curse that but well-informed mind.
comes with education and awareness. And, personally, I think
it’s more than worthwhile.
I still get all “dolled up” to go out with friends, I love a
The Learning Cycle
Linda Pappas
Academic Success Specialist
porting materials, referring to old notes) That is happening in
the prefrontal lobes. (4) Active Testing of Generalizations—do
something with the new information (explain it to someone,
The cycle that our brains go through to learn inforsolve a problems with it, draw a concept map or a table, remation is not something that most of us ever give much
write it in condensed form, do practice questions). That takes
thought. Years of being in academic situations has put us in
place in your frontal lobes. This four step process never stops
our own special zone. However, we can discover how to be
because all active testing becomes new input to remember.
more effective as learners if we do pause to reflect on what
The problem is that the cycle is usually short-circuited
happens. How do we grow those dendrites and create the
in students who only memorize. What do you do to “make the
massive neural networks that help us to answer that exam
information your own”? A concept map, a flow chart, a sumquestion correctly?
mary sheet, answer practice questions, discussion with peers
I recently reread “The Art of Changing the Brain” by
or faculty, not just making note cards but practice by grouping
James Zull, (2000, Stylus). In that book Zull describes David
them, looking up information that you don’t understand in
Kolb’s Learning Cycle. That cycle is described as a four step
greater detail, breaking up detail memorization into shorter
process which Zull explains happens in four different parts of
bursts of time.
the brain: (1) Concrete Experience—take in information
Dr. John Pelley, professor at Texas Tech University
though the senses (lecture, panopto, labs, videos). That is hap- Health Sciences and author of Success Types for Medical Stupening in the parietal lobes. (2) Reflective Observation—
dents, states that you are passive if you are looking “at” or liscompares information with stored knowledge to determine if it tening “to” and active if you are looking “for” or listening “for.”
is new or already known (taking and reviewing notes). That is
There is not one right way to be active with or own the inforhappening in the temporal lobes. (3) Generalizations and Ab- mation; finding the way(s) that work for you is the key. Dr.
Michele Millard and I would be glad to assist you in
stract Concepts—connect the new information with what is
known; find new possibilities; ask questions about significance; “brainstorming” about your own individual learning cycle.
decide on probability (small group discussions, looking up sup-
3
Shrink Rap: What I Did on My Summer Vacation...
Michael G. Kavan, Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Student Affairs
new independent you for a while and who possess their own
expectations on how you should be spending your break.
Yeah, you get the picture. So, look forward to good things,
but be realistic and flexible – sometimes going with the flow
Huh? Okay, we have all been asked to write about
our summer vacation. The required essay that many teachers is not all bad.
have asked us to write as a
 Second, go into your
way to slowly coax us back
break with the idea that being
into a focused study mode
with and doing things with
following a wonderful, or
family and friends is great, so,
sometimes, not so wonderful,
enjoy them, but also take care
summer vacation. Oh, the
of your own needs and feelmemories! I thought that as
ings as well. You have worked
you wind down the fall sehard over the past semester
mester – and for many of you
and you want to make sure
your first semester of medical
that you engage in activities
school - I want you to considthat you enjoy and find relaxer planning for and then to
ing. Read a good book, go see
visualizing how you see yourPhoto credit: Chazz Reinhold, thefilmstage.com that movie you have been
self answering the question:
waiting to see, visit family and
“What I Did on My Winter
friends you want to visit, and
Vacation?” – as a way to ensure that you get out of it what
volunteer
possibly
at
a
homeless
shelter serving a meal; a
you want and come back feeling recharged and refreshed.
great way to feel good about yourself and your impact on
Yes, it is still a little early, but my hunch is that many others. These are the activities that can re-center you and
of you have made or in the process of making plans for your recharge your batteries for the spring semester.
holiday break. Now some of you may say, “The heck with
plans – I’m going to mom’s house to sit on the couch and de-  Third, as you enjoy the holidays, remember everything in
mand, ‘Mom, more meatloaf!’ much like Will Ferrell’s charac- moderation. There will be lots of great food and alcohol
around and it’s certainly okay to enjoy it all, but also to keep
ter Chazz Reinhold in the Wedding Crashers.” And, yes, to
some that may sound like a pretty darn good way to spend a in mind the importance of drinking and eating in moderation.
This is not the time to get a DUI, so, please be smart and
winter break. However, to others…not so much.
careful out there. And, don’t forget to keep up with or to
As you consider how your essay will read as you reth
crank up your exercise routine. This is a great time to stay
turn January 6 , I ask that you begin planning now on how
best to maximize your Christmas break in order to make your active and to truly enjoy that walk or run.
Finally, holidays can be stressful, so, make sure you incorpobreak and your essay more meaningful. Here are some sugrate effective stress management techniques into your daily
gestions on how you may do this:
routine. In addition to moderating food and alcoholic drinks,
 First, consider your expectations about the holiday sea- make sure that you remember to stay calm, take deep
sons. Studies suggest that many people feel worse after the breaths at times of stress, challenge irrational self-talk, relax
with music or a hot bath, and, as mentioned previously, keep
holidays due to the fact that their pre-holiday expectations
were unrealistic to begin with. Going home to a loving family up with your exercise program.
where everyone gets along and sits around drinking hot chocSo, when you come back January 6th and your profesolate and eating Christmas cookies in front of a roaring fire
while singing Christmas carols as the snow gently falls outside sor asks you to write your essay on “What I Did on My Winter
just may not be in the cards for everyone this year. Don’t get Vacation?’ – will you be happy with the final product? I hope
me wrong, it’s great to have positive expectations and to do so, and I hope everyone has a wonderful and peace-filled holyour best to fulfill these, but keep them realistic. Holidays are iday. Have fun, be safe, and I look forward to seeing everyone
wonderful, but they can be stressful, especially when you mix back in 2014!
family and friends who may not have seen each other or the
4
A Doctor ’s Responsibility
Marcus Mittelsteadt
M4
Many times during a medical school career, your
head is plunged under the surface of medical studies. As
your life gets distorted by your own panicked waves, you,
the student, flank yourself with blinders to block out distractions – to narrow your gaze so that you can effectively navigate the obstacles lying directly in your path. In
doing so, you sacrifice perspective for the sake of overcoming challenges facing you in the short term. Occasionally, however, we are offered brief respites, over holiday
breaks or on mental vacations away from the route that
runs between the hospital, apartment, and library. These
respites provide us perspective; a reflection on what the
medical student is trying to achieve. Students of medicine
are charged with task of learning the science of the human body, and fusing it with the art of caregiving. In doing so, we are to become healers for the sick – a resource
for those whose own resources have been outrun. This is
a great responsibility, an admirable undertaking, a weight
that justifies the heavy lifting we do during our training.
Still there is more – a commitment that extends further
than formulas for alleviating ailments. Outside our blinders, above the surface of our studies, the influence of
the physician reaches beyond the hospital.
Where holiday breaks and mental vacays provide
the medical student ‘outside looking-in’ perspectives on
their own life, these letups also provide a feel for what
the rest of the world perceives, and understands, about
our schooling and field. This understanding, I have found,
is limited. Relatives, friends, even students in other professional fields, rarely seem to grasp fully the mental and
financial commitment it takes to perform well in our vocation – or why we are motivated as much out of fear as
by a dedication to our principles. When we are shuffling
our schedules to create delicate “balance”, friends and
family wonder, bemused, why we cannot make it to the
bar on a Sunday afternoon to watch the football game –
why we bring a book to that bar. Why we can’t “Just take
a break!” or, “Take the night off…” These questions reflect a loving attempt to understand, and a falling-short,
by those to whom we are closest. Still, the depth of understanding of our profession contracts further as the
medical student interacts with societal rings that radiate
at distance from our cohort centric universes. Our patient
populations represent the breath of radiations from center. Many times have I had patients with detailed
Students in attendance at the August 2012 AMA Conference.
Photo credit: Naomi Gall.
knowledge of my schooling, the health care profession,
and disease processes. Many times have I had patients
with little to none. Not uncommonly, patients have asked
me if I am still in school, if I am in medical school, or if I
want to go to medical school. I respond, “yes, I am in
medical school.” They congratulate me and remark about
how medicine is an excellent profession, how much work
it takes, how much dedication and compassion I must
possess. And then, with surprising consistency, those
same patients follow with questions, “So, is that a two
year program?” or, “So, are you going to be a nurse, or
doctor, after medical school?”
The beautiful (and precarious) significance of this
sometimes gulf of understanding that separates care provider from care receiver - physician from lay public, even
us from our families and friends - is found in how that
gulf shapes the patient-doctor relationship, and the mold
it places to the physician’s consequence in society. The
knowledge gap that exists cultivates beauty in the bonds
of the patient-doctor relationship; a beauty found in the
form of an enormous amount of trust, of which physicians are the beneficiary, handed over by patients out of
respect for what an M and a D, placed together, represent. Relationships with patients are shaped from patient
trust in the rigorous training we undergo; trust in the
oaths we take to provide the best care we are able; trust
in our best intentions and values. This trust, shaped in the
doctor’s office, also translates beyond the walls of the
hospital to the physician’s role in society.
Continued on page 6
5
Health Care
“I invite you to
consider the
weight your
words carry. I
invite you to
consider the fact
that that weight
will grow as your
career
progresses .”
- Marcus
Mittelsteadt,
President of the
CUMC AMA –
MSS chapter
You can find information about
the Affordable
Care Act at the
AMA homepage,
under
“Advocacy
Topics.”
Cont’d from page 5
It is trusted that the moral values, and ethical
commitments made in patient rooms, are
embodied by our values, and our commitments to society in general. Simply earning
the title of ‘Doctor’ makes one a leader in
one’s community, a person whose voice is
heard and always considered – a token of the
confidence placed in us by our patients.
Perhaps no longer the auditorium
wielding god-surgeons of old, today’s physicians nonetheless bear a weighty consequence in society. The trust and respect given to physicians persists and is palpable. I
saw glimpses of it on my rural rotation as a
third year student. I was humbled many
times when patients would rise and remove
their hats upon the doctor entering the
room; when parents would dress their kids in
Sunday clothes and farmers would don sport
coats and button down shirts for doctor’s
visits. War vets refer to you as sir or ma’am,
and patients ask your advice on matters far
from medically related. So, what does all this
mean? What is the point of this pontification? The point is, physicians bear responsibility for both the medical knowledge gap
that separates us from our patients, and the
respect our voices receive on issues outside
of medical diagnosis and treatment. Over
four years of school and countless more in
residency, we are to become authorities in
the realm of medicine, but also, authorities
on countless other topics. Among those topics are the happenings concerning our own
industry, Health Care.
For the physician, knowledge of the
political, financial, and social aspect of Health
Care is of comparable importance to knowing well the art of diagnosis and treatment.
Though difficult to appreciate through our
medical student blinders, taking the title of
‘Doctor’ implies an obligation to become educated on the issues and challenges that concern the broader field of Health Care. For,
much like we are trusted to fill in the
knowledge gap on disease and treatment,
we too are trusted to fill in the knowledge
6
gap on matters of importance to our field. If
we do not take up this responsibility, we forfeit this trust to lawmakers and others, who
do not have the privileged perspective that
we have. In essence, we forfeit the opportunity to be advocates for our patients at a
political and social level – the opportunity to
redeem the respect shown us by society.
As I prepare to enter the real world,
as a resident, I am peeling the medical student blinders from my face. Emerging above
the panicked waves of my studies, I am beginning to realize the implications of the
choice I made, over four years ago, to enter
medical school. While my first responsibility
is to care for patients, being a physician
means much more. To me, it means holding
in my hands the respect handed to me, feeling the weight of it, and finding ways for it to
be redeemed within, and without, the hospital’s walls. To me it means being informed on
what is going on in my field, that I may be
ready to respond intelligibly when my opinion is asked. It means being informed on a
gamut of other issues, that when my counsel
is called upon, I offer thoughtfulness and wisdom. It means being prepared to take up the
mantle of leadership in my community, that I
may earn the trust that is so humbly offered
to me out of a simple respect for my profession. Approaching Christmas break, we are
soon to be afforded a respite, a time to consider the implications of what being a physician means.
As you field questions from your
family and friends regarding issues ranging
from the Affordable Care Act, to diagnosis
and disease, to a range of other nonmedically related topics, I invite you to consider the weight your words carry. I invite
you to consider the fact that that weight will
grow as your career progresses. Soon, you
will be an esteemed voice for your profession, and for your patients, in a broader context than the Doctor’s office. Consider this,
and consider how you might make good on
this responsibility.
Gaining Perspective
Linda Pappas
Academic Success Specialist
spend studying. Throughout medical school I learned how
to study smart (which doesn't mean study every waking
moment).
 What to expect at the next level. A lot of times it seemed as
It’s easy when you are in the middle of an intense exthough we were always in the dark until just before someperience to lose perspective. The only thing you see is right in
thing happened. I found myself asking upperclassmen a lot
front of you and you miss seeing the bigger picture. Here are
of questions regarding the next step.
some hints that as a med student,
 I wish I would've figured out
you may have lost perspective:
sooner not to believe everything you
hear. I think there were times that I
 When you go out with nondefeated myself before I tried bemedical students, you're abcause people from the class above
normally quiet, because you
said how hard or impossible somedon't know what to talk about
thing was. I wish I would've been
besides med school.
aware of the tendency to over exag You know countless mnemongerate some things.
ics for parts of the body, but
 What 3rd and 4th years are like. I
couldn't tell anyone what the
honestly knew nothing about what to
front-page headline is today.
expect when I entered my third year.
 You refer to the semesters
Photo credit: calvarychapelsilvercity.org
 I wished I would have known that
you took organic chemistry as
these four years go SO fast, and that
"The Good Old Days."
you should enjoy any and all time with the people im You know that, in theory, you have a family and friends, but
portant to you.
you can't place the last time you saw them.

I wish I would have known earlier how approachable and
 You constantly find yourself saying things like "I just have to
accessible most of the residents and faculty are. Most of
get to spring break" or "I just have to get through Step 1."
them are glad to answer any question you might have and
 People assume you know something when you tell them
willingly offer advice if needed.
you're in med school, but you know that you haven't

Don't be afraid of being wrong.
learned anything.
 You assess beverages for amount of caffeine before buying  I wish I would have known more about how to get involved
in research projects/poster presentations.
only those with more caffeine than coffee. Then you explain
 I wish I would have known that until you see it, do it, and
to the cashier how caffeine works for you.
are immersed in a specialty area of medicine, you really
 Grey's Anatomy, House, and Scrubs, are your favorite
cannot completely understand or appreciate it. I think peoshows, but you point out all the wrong things in them all
ple get too closed minded on what they want to go into
the time.
early, and that can be detrimental to choosing the specialty
that truly fits you as person best.
Perspective is an elusive thing and hard to maintain
because the demands in front of you are so great. It’s easy to
A mentoring conversation could help you learn from
get lost in the cycle of just getting beyond the next quiz or test
your
mentors---what
do they now know that you need to know?
and lose sight of the bigger picture. An opportunity that you
Instead
of
saying
“I
wish
I had known”, you could be saying “I’m
have to gain back some semblance of perspective in the midst
so
glad
they
told
me.
.
.
.”
You might think that the mentoring
of your craziness is having a conversation with one of your menrequirement
is
onerous---just
another thing to do. But au contors. Mentors are valuable because they are a step ahead; peer
traire.
.
.
try
the
perspective
that
it is an opportunity to meet a
mentors have recently been through what you are experiencing
variety
of
people
who
may
help
you
along the way. These are
at the moment and faculty mentors have been around the block
people
that
you
may
not
have
met
or
a conversation you may
a few times, having the wisdom of professional experiences and
life lessons. A short conversation with one of these people can not have had if not for the mentoring requirement! Granted,
remind you of the bigger picture with moments filled with “Oh the relationship might not click with one of the mentors, but
you have choices---just take the mentoring moments for what
yeah, now I remember why I want to do this!” or “They have
they offer. Don’t forget the list of alumni mentors (there are
made it; I can make it”.
over 250 of them) found in Blueline/Vital Signs that are willing
When I asked M3s and M4s what they “wished they would have to be contacted via phone or e-mail for questions about the
profession, their experiences, their specialty, or region of the
known”, here are a few of the things they shared:
 I wish I would have had a better idea of how much time to country. Have a conversation and gain some perspective!
7
Dean’s Quarterly Update
This issue, M2 Class President Chris Lensing asked Associate Dean Dr. White to answer some
questions regarding changes in the school:
1) What is the overall impression from administration with moving the teaching hospital from CUMC to Bergan?
Medical education has been part of Creighton University for more than 100 years and continues to be a integral part of
the experience. Over that time, the clinical education has been completed in various locations in the community. Moving the teaching hospital from CUMC to the current Bergan campus is the most recent evolution. It is believed that this
will allow more educational opportunities and greater training experiences. There will be tremendous excitement and
growth potential.
2. How will this move effect students in particular? Also, what is the timeline for move to start and be finished?
This move will allow students to learn in a different location and space. The education and curriculum will continue
with expected improvements. The faculty are committed to continue to provide a high quality educational experience
no matter the location. The timeline has not been established, but will not occur overnight. This will take a considerable planning effort and there are construction needs at the current Bergan campus which will need to be completed in
order to accommodate our needs. Once this timeline has been created, this will be shared with the entire community.
3. Will students be able to give input on how the new hospital and classrooms will be constructed?
Absolutely. Once the planning process is initiated, representatives from the student body will be invited to be a key
partner to make this transition successful.
Clubs Profile: Family Medicine Interest
Group
Elizabeth Wooster
M4
Family Medicine Interest Group is for anyone interested in going into family medicine-- a specialty focused
on taking care of patients from womb to tomb. We hope
to increase interest in and knowledge about a career in
primary care medicine. Throughout the year we will be
hosting speakers, planning procedure nights, and spending
some time in community service. We hope to see you
there!
Ariel Postone, Sarah Grauman, Cody King, Susanne
Alcudia, and Elizabeth Wooster attended the American
Academy of Family Physicians National Conference for Students and Residents in Kansas City, MO August 1-3, 2013.
The conference focused on family physicians being at the
forefront of healthcare reform. There were a variety of
sessions from improving clinical skills to learning how to
From left to right: M4’s Ariel Postone, Elizabeth Wooster
and Cody King at the National Conference.
apply to family medicine to the numerous options of practice in the field of family medicine.
In the exhibits room, attendees were able to meet
with representatives from 300+ family residency programs
throughout the country as well as various health care
agencies recruiting residents for employment.
8
Med Yoga: Limbering Up the Next
Generation of CU Medical Students
“It is … a
vehicle to
maintain
resiliency
and release
stress. ”
Bryn Willson
stressors medical stuM1
Attention Creighton Medical Students! Medical
dents face as well as
students report that the demands of medical education
offers a fairly advanced
increase burnout and decrease the ability to connect with level of intellectual conpatients (JAMA 2010). Are you looking for a high yield
tent appropriate for the
way to keep your empathy limber while relieving stress,
medical students.”
increasing happiness, and gaining a bit of psychological
Dan Janiczak and
(and physical) flexibility?
the rest of the M2 class
Enter Mind-Body Education and Development
has brought MedYoga to
Yoga (MEDYoga). This program was started at Boston Uni- life here at Creighton and
versity Medical School by Heather Mason and was chap- proved how beneficial it can be to cope with the inherent
eroned to Creighton University School of Medicine by our stressors of medical education. So why not join your felvery own Dan Janiczak (M2 Wellness Chair). What is
low classmates in gaining a skill that can help you tune
MedYoga? It is a
out the noise and focus on
program that is
becoming “centered” in
spreading like wildtimes when concentration is
fire across med
key? Now, it is up to us,
school campuses
M1’s, to help Creighton conbecause it is an outtinue to be a leader in welllet to cultivate mindness and progress in medical
fulness and a vehicle
education.
to maintain resilienAs your M1 Wellness
cy and release
Chair, I checked out MedYostress. Research
ga to see what all the fuss
shows mind-body
was about. I was blown away
practices like yoga
by the quality of the class
with emphasis on
and particularly by the
photo credit: www.bu.edu/today/2011/yoga-gets-into-med-school/
exercise, breath conknowledgeable instructor trol, and mindfulLibba who had 20 or so of
ness are effective in curbing stress. Dan Janiczak writes,
the M2s hopping up into crow pose in no time. If you
“The MedYoga program will provide a special platform for don’t know what that means, not to worry - I didn’t eistress coping strategies, enhancing self-awareness, and
ther. But it was impressive. The instructor does a great
sophisticated understanding of the neuro-physiological
job tailoring the class to all levels and she avoids using
effects of yoga.”
some the typical yoga jargon you might otherwise tune
Between 10 and 14 sessions are planned for next out in other yoga classes.
semester. One session a week, likely on Wednesday
High yield points: MedYoga is the real deal. All the
afternoons. A yoga session will include at least 50
cool M2s are doing it. It’s way more fun than reading Robminutes of yoga postures with emphasis on breath. The bins and Cotran and we don’t have anatomy lab as an expractice is enhanced by slow, deliberate movements that cuse! I will be sending out a notification to our class with a
aim to soften and relax the nervous system response to
google sign-up sheet during break to gain a sense of who
stimuli. Finally, students will learn how to explore the
is interested in joining. After that, I will start an email
habits and feelings that arise in the body and mind
chain with more info about cost (probably about $20 for
through a mindfulness activity. Richard Saper, professor
the entire semester, its a steal) and possible meeting
of family medicine and director of integrative medicine at dates. Please email me if you have any questions, comBoston University, also helped develop the program and ments, or concerns.
states a session “targets the unique challenges and
Stay well, friends.
9
“It’s So Cute When They Think They’re Doctors.”
Gordon Chien
M2
without a hiccup. My self-esteem up, I stood convinced that the
school should’ve just handed me my diploma right then and
there because I was just so dang GOOD AT THIS.
As I was about to give my little scripted wrap-up Oscar
“Gordon, why don’t you go and see Mr.
speech, Mr. M chimed in hesitantly.
M on your own and then we can dis“Oh, and there’s something
cuss his case?”
else…do
you
know much about ED?”
Oh, thank you mystical powers
ED…ED…oh
right, Ehlersabove. It’s finally happening. My longiDanlos.
Crap,
I
know
it’s a congenital
tudinal clinic preceptor is throwing me
connective
tissue
disorder,
but not
the reins. I get to stroll in to a patient
much
else.
Oh
well,
I’ll
just
ask him
room with my white coat and my noteabout
his
family
history
of
connective
book and pretend I’m actually a sometissue problems and wing it from there.
body. I get to try my hand at diagnosing
Two minutes into my line of questionsomething real. I’m the boss. This must
ing, my patient’s quick evolution from
be how the NCAA men’s basketball
gentle smile to angry demands for why
national championship team feels when
Photo credit: scrubs.wikia.com
I was asking him how far back his par“One Shining Moment” blares as the
ents’
fingers can bend made me realize
players try to not choke on confetti.
that
I
was
completely
on
the
wrong
path. Embarrassed, I hurThen came sweaty palms, a lurch in my stomach, and
riedly
excused
myself
from
the
room
and presented the case to
mind-numbing terror. Oh my God.
Dr.
L.
Upon
describing
the
puzzling
change
in Mr. M’s demeanHow stupid will I sound if I stumble all
or,
Dr.
L
gave
me
a
classic
facepalm
and
explained
to me what I
over myself? What if the patient realhad
done
wrong.
izes that I actually have no idea what
Now, most people with any common sense would have
I’m doing? Will the university cover
figured
out
that he was, of course, asking about erectile dysmy legal expenses when I accidentally
function,
a
problem
already difficult enough for most men to
poke the otoscope right through Mr.
discuss
without
being
questioned about “places on your body
M’s eardrum?
where
you’re
stretchier.”
I, defying all laws of logic and statisDr. L saw the hesitation in my
tics,
managed
to
ignore
the
mainstream assumption entirely
eyes, gave me a motherly pat on the
and
made
myself
look
really
foolish. Despite my best efforts, I
back, and said, “Stop worrying. It’s
had
fulfilled
those
pre-interview
fears.
not like you’re going to do anything
As
medical
students,
we
learn about numerous fasciI get to stroll
that can accidentally kill him.” Wanna
nating
diseases
that
have
all
sorts
of fun buzzword descriptors
bet?
into a patient
that
“show
up
on
the
boards
all
the
time” but, funnily enough,
“Hey Mr. M! My name’s Gornever in real life. Our mental Rolodexes like to jump to those
room with my
don, and I’m the medical student
white coat and
working with Dr. L today. It’s a pleas- far, dusty corners, believing that we’ve found that one-in-eighture to meet you.” My eager hand shot hundred-thousand case so we can show off to the attendings.
my notebook
out toward his, following the familiar The designation of these uncommon conditions--“zebras”-and pretend I’m
takes root in the idiom “When you hear hoof beats, think horsscript that I had rehearsed so many
es, not zebras.” Common things are common; you’re far more
actually sometimes in standardized patient interlikely to see an atypical presentation of a common disease than
views.
body.
Mr. M, a mildly obese man in textbook symptoms of a rare one.
Yet, we spend so many classroom hours learning about
his 50s who was on several medicathe
zebras
that eventually we train our minds to go on wild sations for hypertension and arrhythmifari
hunts
by
default, always searching for our next white whale.
as, came in with concerns regarding
This,
of
course,
is where experience comes in. This is why we
some mild, intermittent chest pain
swallow
our
fears
and see patient after patient, hoping to come
that had started three weeks prior.
out
each
time
with
a little more diagnostic know-how so that
Immediately, my mind flipped to evewe
make
fewer
mistakes
in the future. Let’s not lie to ourselvesrything I knew about cardiac and res-at
the
end
of
the
day,
the
major driver for doing all the learning
piratory conditions, which at the time
we
do
is
simply
the
fear
of
sounding completely stupid to
was pitifully little. I ran through the
strangers
and
superiors.
We
all might as well have “fake it ‘til
standard interview protocol--chief
you
make
it”
tattooed
to
our
foreheads.
complaint, review of systems, medical, family, and social histories--
10
Cooking with Diana
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11
Diana Dean,
M3 and Chef
Photo: Minimalist Baker
Chicken Parmesan
Sandwiches
Photo: Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Penne with Roasted
Asparagus and Balsamic
Butter
Big News
Amanda Wellnitz (M4)
and Chad Wenzel (M4)
Engaged: August 25, 2012
Wedding: May 24, 2014
in Fond du Lac, WI
Erik Frandsen (M4) and
Megan Frandsen
Married: August 3rd,
2013 in Portland, Oregon
12